Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Travel
  3. News

A desert town near Tucson is America’s new fall favorite

Oro Valley, Arizona, took the top spot

Oro Valley
WeiCoolDesignLC / Pixabay

Move over, New England, this year’s hottest fall getaway is hiding in the Arizona desert. HomeToGo, a global vacation rental marketplace, has released its 2025 Fall Travel Report, and the top trending U.S. destination isn’t covered in fiery maples but framed by saguaros. 

Just north of Tucson, Oro Valley, Arizona claims the number one spot, luring autumn travelers with crisp, dry air and miles of golden desert trails. October brings a softer side to the Sonoran landscape, when Catalina State Park is full of cottonwood trees and quiet canyon hikes against the dramatic Santa Catalina Mountains.

Recommended Videos

The Southwest isn’t stopping there. Evergreen, Colorado lands second on the list, perched at 7,200 feet just outside Denver. Visitors can paddleboard on Evergreen Lake, spot elk in Evergreen Park, or take a quick drive to Mount Blue Sky for alpine views. 

In third place is Kanab, Utah, where cooler temperatures and clear skies make it prime season for trekking through Buckskin Gulch, exploring the Coral Pink Sand Dunes, or setting out on day trips to Zion and Bryce Canyon.

The top trending U.S. destinations for fall 2025 travel

  1. Oro Valley, Arizona
  2. Evergreen, Colorado
  3. Kanab, Utah
  4. The Galena Territory, Illinois
  5. Celebration, Florida

The top trending international destinations for fall 2025 travel

The study also looked at the top international spots for a fun fall getaway.

  1. Crete, Greece
  2. Funchal, Portugal
  3. Ko Chang, Thailand
  4. Torremolinos, Spain
  5. Alghero, Italy
Amanda Teague
Amanda, an accomplished freelance writer from Columbus, Ohio, is a dedicated explorer of both the world and the written word…
SailGP: The World’s Most Glamorous Sports League?
Formula 1 thrills, glamorous destinations, and plenty of Champagne.
Art, Water, Person

My dad is a diehard New England sports fan, and as a kid, I often worried I'd have to perform CPR on him whenever the Bruins, Patriots, or Red Sox were on television. As livid as a Viking berserker, the old man would leap off the sofa to coach Tom Brady from the living room or rain down curses upon the Yankees. Our cocker spaniel, Fenway, instinctively fled the room whenever my father reached for the remote. The stress of it all, plus the fact that I was missing episodes of South Park, soured me on professional sports.

I finally came around in my thirties, less for the sports themselves than for the spectacle and revelry. I can't name more than two Knicks players, but I had a blast watching the NBA Finals with my buddies at bars across New York. The nuances of Formula 1 are about as intelligible to me as multivariable calculus, but that didn't stop me from partying my face off on a press trip to the Miami Grand Prix. I also write about luxury watches, spirits, and travel—all of which dovetail rather nicely with grand athletic extravaganzas.

Read more
Savannah Beyond the Postcard
Take a look at one of the greatest southern cities from a different perspective.
Architecture, Building, Spire

Savannah is one of those cities that seems almost too easy to like. The live oaks are dramatic. The Spanish moss does exactly what it is supposed to do. The brick sidewalks buckle in all the right places. The houses look like they were designed by people who understood proportion, shade, and the value of a proper front step. Even the light seems to arrive with better manners than it does in most places.

I have a built-in advantage when it comes to Savannah. We have family there, so we have been back several times, not just once for the checklist version of the city. I have also done a photography workshop there, which is a terrific way to learn any city. You get up early, stay out late, and pay attention to alleys, doorways, ironwork, reflections, and the way a city changes when the tourists are still asleep.

Read more
I spent 72 hours in London with only a carry-on. Here’s how I did it in style
Luxury travel doesn't require a checked bag
London

Somewhere between the baggage claim carousel and the Elizabeth Line, I realized I'd already won. As passengers from my Norwegian flight to London crowded around the conveyor belt waiting for checked luggage to appear, I was already on my way into the city. Twenty minutes later, I was headed toward central London with nothing more than a carry-on suitcase and a backpack. I've become a bit of a carry-on evangelist over the past few years. Not because I'm trying to prove some minimalist point or because I enjoy seeing how few shirts I can survive with. I just genuinely think it's the better way to travel, especially for a long weekend in Europe.

My recent 72-hour trip from Copenhagen to London wasn't exactly a backpacker's itinerary. It included a stay at one of London's nicest luxury hotels, rooftop cocktails, dinners worth dressing up for, and plenty of walking through Soho, Covent Garden, and the rest of central London. Somehow, everything I needed fit inside my Travelpro Platinum Elite Slim Cabin Hardshell Spinner V2, with a backpack holding my flight essentials.

Read more